Greece:

The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet

Greece:

The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet

Politics

We have two contrasting political foundations so you can choose one to suit your nature! In Athens we have a democracy, which is a government for the people. Women, you are equal here and can vote! The democracy puts no power in any official, only in the citizens. In Sparta on the other hand, had an assembly of men who made the decisions as well as two kings whiched formed an oligarchy. This assembly was only made up of men who were free, had specialized training, and were elected onto the assembly. In the assembly, the Council of Elders made laws and the Ephors carried out the laws. The men weren't allowed to debate either, only say yes or no. So whether you like everything being put in your hands where you make the decisions, or you elect someone you deem worthy to make the decisions for you, it's your choice!!

Religion

We have just one polytheistic religion across our whole empire. We have many powerful gods who are the children of the titans they overthrew. Each polis or city-state you go to has their own patron god/goddess. Athens had Athena, Sparta has Ares, Delphi has Apollo, you get the point. All of these gods protect our empire and guide us in battle. We also have heroes such as Hercules (or Heracles) who had god-like strength and was the son of Zeus. Theseus went to the island of Crete and killed the feared half-man, half-bull the Minotaur. There was also Achilles, who played a great deal in the Trojan War but got killed in the end when he was shot with an arrow through the ankle, which was his only weakness.

Economy

We have a decent economy... Though we don't have much in farming due to the lack of arable land we had. We had a trade network that developed and increased greatly with our neighbors. All of our city-states running themselves produce a good sum of goods and what they need and not have gets traded with the other city-states or empires if need be. So everyone has what they need.

Social setup

In Sparta, if you are a man, you are trained for the military. From the age of seven you go through relentless military training to push you beyond your limitations to make you a good soldier. If you are a woman you strengthen your body so you can produce a healthy male. In Athens on the other hand, free adult males are citizens and if families could afford, their boys went to school. The Athenians believed philosophy and education and built a democracy that thrived. The Athenians and Spartans had completely opposite social setups but they were both effective.

Intellectual advancements

There were three major philosophers in Greece; Socrates, his student Plato, and Plato's student Aristotle. Socrates was very quizzical, he always answered his students questions with a question of his own. He believed that if one questioned what they knew, they began to understand and learn more. He was sentenced to death for his stance against many of the powerful figures in the government. Plato was Socrates' prized pupil. He hated the idea of democracy and came up with his "ideal" government; three groups which were farming/working, warrior, and ruling. He believed those rulers should be the best and brightest philosophers such as himself. Aristotle believed all could be understood through reasoning. He studied natural phenomena and is considered the first true scientist.

Quotes

Socrates- "The only true wisdom is knowing you know nothing"

Plato- "Wise men speak because they having something to say, Fools speak because they have to say something"

Aristotle- "It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a though without accepting it.

(The quote I put in the subtitle of this article is by Aristotle too)

Art

The Greeks loved the fine arts, especially poetry. Between Homer's epic poems and the lyrical and descriptive work by Pindar. As I mentioned earlier each city-state had a patron god/goddess. These cities would build shrines to all the gods but build especial worshiping place for the god/goddess, like Athens had the Parthenon mostly dedicated to Athena. Alexander the great built his great library in Alexandria which is in Egypt. It was in Alexandria where Alexander spread his ideas of democracy and women gained rights, art advanced in Greek culture, and education became top priority for all world empires.